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The Minnesota Twins announced plans Saturday to unveil a bronze statue of Hall of Famer Joe Mauer outside Target Field next season.

Mauer, a six-time All-Star, was inducted into the Hall of Fame last month. The statue announcement came during a ceremony to honor the Saint Paul native prior to Saturday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox.

“Joe Mauer is a Hall of Fame player and person, and one of the best to ever wear a Minnesota Twins uniform,” club executive chair Joe Pohlad said. “Joe is one of us, and we all went along for the ride as the kid from St. Paul earned his rightful place in Cooperstown as the best-hitting catcher in baseball history.

“The memories he created for a generation of his fellow Minnesotans will always be cherished, and it is only fitting that our ballpark has a permanent celebration of our hometown baseball hero. On behalf of our organization and Twins fans everywhere, we are thrilled to honor Joe Mauer’s legacy with a Target Field statue.”

Paul Molitor and Jack Morris were among the former Twins on hand. Those two Hall of Famers also are Saint Paul natives.

Mauer will be the sixth Minnesota player to be immortalized with a statue outside the ballpark. The others are Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva and Kent Hrbek. Manager Tom Kelly also is honored in that manner.

Mauer was the 2009 American League MVP during his 15 seasons with the Twins. He was the No. 1 overall selection in 2001 and reached the majors three years later.

Mauer won three batting titles — with averages of .347 in 2006, .328 in 2008 and .365 in 2009. He had a .306 career average, 143 homers, 923 RBIs in 1,858 games before retiring following the 2018 season.

Mauer’s No. 7 was retired by Minnesota in 2019.

–Field Level Media